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Silvio da Parma
“''The ignorance which unbinds the mirror; the pen and paper which unravels its beginnings...” —Somnium Fluxus '''Dante da Parma '(ダンテダパルマ, da Paruma Dante) was a Nefas Inferior and Italian scholar best known for his metaphysical research inspired by his unorthodox experiences throughout life, as well as the discovery of his own supernatural powers. Dante recorded all of his findings in a private journal, which was later published under a pseudonym in the following years after his death; the journal has been maintained to this day. Dante was famous for his crusade throughout France to retrieve his family heirloom, Axenus Gate's legendary Rex Nothus, which was placed inside Dante's casket and buried alongside him after his death. During his travels, Dante interacted with several spiritual races as well as other Nefas, including the infamous Randa Primarosa, his indirect ancestor. He is lauded as one of the pioneers of supernatural research and a hallmark hero of legend. Appearance Personality History Early Life and First Spiritual Encounter Dante was born within a peasant family in the countryside of Parma, Italy in 1480, the last-born son of Massimo and Clarice da Parma. Dante was mostly sheltered in his childhood, having little interaction with his parents in comparison to his two elder brothers, Orlando and Gillberto, and rarely given any opportunity to venture outdoors. While Dante was taught to read and write by his brothers, he was mostly self-educated, primarily studying art and literature when confined to his room, and agriculture and nature on the few occasions he was allowed to wander outside. Massimo, referred to as a highly wary man in Dante's autobiography, trained the latter in the art of swordsmanship. Dante's family had few valuable possessions, save for several heirlooms which included Rex Nothus. Rex Nothus, in particular, was highly treasured; Dante was forbidden to even examine the sword. Massimo, for reasons he would not disclose, entrusted Dante with a Sacrificium Cultri, another family heirloom, at some point in his late childhood, much to the jealousy of his elder brothers. As a rebellious teenager, Dante often snuck outdoors late at night whenever an opportunity presented itself. On one particular night, Dante rushed outside upon noticing a peculiar light looming over his father's farm, caused by an Anima Casus. Dante attempted to communicate with the spirit upon realizing that it was sentient, to which the spirit responded with gestures, in spite of its seemingly random mumbling. In the end, Dante learned little from the spirit and retreated back to his home after nearly an hour had passed, dismissing the encounter as a hallucination from lack of sleep; the spirit disappeared shortly thereafter. Voyage to France In the morning of July 6, 1496, not long after the beginning of the Battle of Fornovo, Dante's household was mysteriously raided by renegade troops from Charles VIII's army. The raid began shortly after Dante awoke; Massimo, as well as Rex Nothus, was nowhere to be found. Orlando and Gillberto fended off the assailants outside whist Dante remained indoors to protect Clarice, slaying several troops in the process; Orlando was heavily wounded and died shortly after the raid. Dante noted that one of the soldiers had a dagger identical to his Sacrificium Cultri. With the assailants dealt with, Dante, furious, immediately turned his attention to his missing father and family heirloom. After two days of diligently searching Fornovo for clues of his father's whereabouts (neglecting to eat or drink during the entire period), Dante returned home, where he was informed by Clarice that Massimo, immediately following the beginning of the Battle of Fornovo, took Rex Nothus and headed off to the battlefield to defend his homeland, where he was likely slain unbeknownst to the Venetians. Dante departed once more to search for Rex Nothus but quickly gave up, concluding that the sword was likely looted by peasantry. Massimo's disappearance left the da Parma family with fewer resources. Clarice, overwhelmed with grief, soon fell ill, leaving Dante and Gillberto to tend to the farm. Dante, obsessed with locating Rex Nothus and worried that his mother would not survive, privately expressed to his brother that they would need to abandon their mother and learn to survive on their own. When Gillberto, disgusted by his brother's behavior, refused, Dante decided to leave Parma on his own in search of answers, suspecting a connection between Massimo and the troops that raided his home. To survive on his own, Dante pillaged what he could from the local peasantry. On August 21 in Bologna, nearly several weeks after departing from home, Dante encountered an oddly-dressed man during a late-night stroll. Before Dante could approach the man, he was ambushed by several other cloaked individuals. Despite Dante's best attempts to defend himself, he was soundly subdued and stabbed through the chest with a Sacrificium Cultri, rendering him unconscious. Dante regained consciousness in an abandoned building, monitored by the same man he initially encountered, who introduced himself as Vincenzio da Rocca di Papa. Vincenzio assured Dante that the latter was not attacked with the intent to kill him, but rather with the intent to awaken his dormant power (by forcibly converting his soul into Pactum Anima) so that he would possibly be of assistance to them. Giving Dante no chance to speak throughout, Vincenzio informed Dante that the men who attacked his family were not regular french soldiers, but in fact human worshipers of Velia Agostinha Vivax, the Goddess of supernatural beings known as Nefas, disguised as such. Vincenzio further informed that the raid was solely for the purpose of seizing Rex Nothus and presenting it to some Nefas situated in France; the soldiers were unaware that the sword had already been taken. Because Rex Nothus originally belonged to the first Nefas and the leader of the first Nefas cult, Diluculum Sanctus, the sword held substantial symbolic power that, if abused, could cause a zealot uprising disastrous for all of Europe. It was only after explaining this that Vincenzio assured Dante that he was well-connected with the Nefas of Italy, and that the both of them were actually Nefas themselves. After explaining to Dante of his intentions to gather an entourage of capable Nefas and journey to France in search of Rex Nothus, Vincenzio released Dante and asked him to return within two years if he wished to join them, knowing that he would likely require time to contemplate what he had learned. Dante spent the remainder of the year 1496 contemplating the purpose of his life and the identity of the Nefas, but chose not to return to his family without Rex Nothus in hand. by the end of 1496, Dante learned to control his Nefas powers, a gift which he primarily abused via extortion, injuring those who tried to subdue him; by 1498, he was so notorious throughout Bologna that he was forced to disguise himself. Dante, upon realizing that he had forgotten the importance of his family's honor and “lost his identity,” finally returned to Vincenzio on march 18, Dante's birthday. Dante told Vincenzio that, while he still did not fully understand the meaning of his family's plight or trust in Vincenzio's words, he wanted to retrieve Rex Nothus and avenge his father, even if that meant siding with Vincenzio and possibly never returning to Italy for the rest of his life. Dante spent the next several months training with Vincenzio to better control his own powers, during which he was also taught French. Dante, Vincenzio, as well as two-dozen Nefas Vincenzio had made dealings with prior to Dante's return, all journeyed to Rome on horseback on July of 1498, disguising themselves as nobility. Using the power of extortion, the group successfully procured a ferry and set sail for Marseille, France. Settling into France During the voyage to Marseille, Dante and Vincenzio's group collaborated on a plan: upon arriving in Marseille, they would surrender to the French and allow themselves to be held captive; following this, the group would tell their captives of Rex Nothus and its existence in France, as well as the importance of retrieving it from the wrong hands; to further convince their captives, the group would display their supernatural powers and proclaim themselves holy crusaders. With some luck, this plan would allow them to operate freely within France as long as they abide the law, and possibly earn them the recognition of the House of France; Vincenzio emphasized that such fame would possibly be essential in later endeavors. The group was discovered by French officials shortly before arriving in Marseille on April 26, and the plan was immediately set into motion. As predicted by Vincenzio, the group was quickly released, following which Vincenzio rounded up his followers and temporarily parted ways with Dante to make himself known to the Nefas of France, advising Dante to do the same in his own way. Homeless, Dante sought refuge in a church populated with several other young incognito Nefas and frequented by Diluculum Aeternus founder-to-be Ichchha-un-Idika Edha Guha Thakurta, all of whom Dante would quickly befriend. Ichchha taught Dante a number of techniques and later told him about the Quincy, revealing herself to be one of them. Among the regular members of the church was a child named Silvanus, a highly distraught orphan whom Dante would assuage whenever they conversed; despite this, Dante learned little of Silvanus' personal life. Dante primarily supported the church by providing shelter to any abandoned children he could find; Dante's fame substantially increased the amount of donations made to the church as well. Six months after joining the church on October 9, Dante was acknowledged and adopted into the family of nobleman Albert Clement Simonet, largely due to Dante's accumulating fame; consequently, Dante adopted the name of Dante Clement Simonet. Dante was initially hesitant to leave the church, but Ichchha assured him that she would help ensure the church's safety before departing for England. As a gift to his new family, Dante presented his Sacrificium Cultri to Albert; Albert, in turn, gifted Dante with a sword “fit for any king.” During this period, Dante made no attempt to search for Rex Nothus. Meeting with Louis XII and Encountering a Shinigami Dante spent the following six years living peacefully with the Simonet family, at which point his life was largely uneventful. Dante would not hear from Vincenzio again until May 7, 1505, when Vincenzio met with Dante to exchange experiences with him. While Vincenzio was unable to locate Rex Nothus, he had greatly succeeded in raising awareness of their crusade by accomplishing numerous heroic deeds and even arranged for himself and his followers to meet with Louis XII. Per Vincenzio's insistence, Dante reluctantly agreed to join the group in the meeting. After bidding his new family goodbye, Dante, along with Vincenzio's group, arrived in Paris on May 14 and joined the House of France in a royal feast commenced in their honor, finally giving the group the opportunity to form a powerful alliance. Following the feast, Dante demonstrated his supernatural powers and exceptional swordplay to Louis XII. As discreetly instructed by Vincenzio, Dante swore an oath to the king to personally present Rex Nothus to the royal family once it was retrieved, earning him the full support of French authority. After spending some time familiarizing himself with Paris and further acquainting himself with Louis XII, Dante returned to his family on May 20, once again parting ways with Vincenzio. Dante would spend six more years living uneventfully with his family, during which he would begin recording his experiences in a journal. On the night of January 9, 1505, Dante noticed an unusual light looming just outside his bedroom window. Remembering the spirit he had encountered in his childhood, Dante rushed outside and was once again greeted by an Anima Casus. By following the Anima Casus, Dante discovered a glistening pond inhabited by identical spirits. Standing beside the pond was an oddly-dressed woman silently observing the spirits, whom Dante immediately attempted to communicate with. The woman, surprised at Dante's ability to detect her, introduced herself as a Shinigami and explained that she had come to observe the Anima Casus, which, at the time, were completely foreign spirits to the Shinigami. It was from this Shinigami that Dante learned that the Anima Casus are actually lost soul fragments that cannot be sent to the afterlife—a task the Shinigami had tried to perform prior to Dante's arrival—because of their incomplete nature. When asked by the Shinigami as to how he was able to detect her, Dante explained that it was likely a result of his own supernatural powers as a Nefas; following this, the Shinigami promptly left without saying a word. It was at this point that Dante fully accepted the existence of unexplainable phenomena and desired to further explore it. On February 14, 1506, Dante was visited by a Nefas colleague from the church, who informed Dante that the church—left powerless with Ichchha's absence—had just recently been devastated by a mysterious creature whom only the Nefas could see. Bidding farewell to his family, Dante took Albert's sword and returned to the church in preparation for the creature's return. In over a period of several weeks safeguarding the church, Dante would investigate a total of seven bizarre occurrences and five murders, all presumably caused by the same creature. Dante finally intercepted the creature on the 18th of January before it could further devastate the church, but he was defeated after a drawn-out duel. Dante was ultimately saved by the same Shinigami he first encountered, following which the two collaborated to slay the creature, revealed by the Shinigami to be a Hollow. When questioned by Dante, the Shinigami reluctantly explained the nature of Hollows and revealed that the Hollow they had defeated was formerly Silvanus, much to Dante's guilt. Before he could return to his family the next day, Dante was contacted by an unfamiliar Nefas who led him to a covert Nefas cult situated in Marseille. The Nefas, upon introducing himself as Fabien, revealed to Dante that the cult had been carefully observing him since he first arrived in France and were, as a result, fully aware of Rex Nothus; Fabien added that Silvanus was formerly orphaned by the cult, which ultimately abandoned him so that he could be used to observe Dante's capabilities when the former inevitably died and Hollowfied as a result of his mistreatment. Disgusted by the cult's actions, Dante refused to join them and promptly left to reunite with his family; nevertheless, it was thanks to this event that nearly every Nefas of Marseille would hear of Dante's heroics. Rising in Power and Confronting the Truth Dante succeeded Albert as head of the Simonet family following the latter's death on March 12, 1511, inheriting his wealth and land. Overwhelmed with his new responsibilities and losing resolve, Dante ultimately decided to forget Rex Nothus and move on with his life. Dante's further attempts to communicate with supernatural were mostly unsuccessful; even Anima Casus were becoming increasingly rare to encounter. It was during this period that Dante would become intimately involved with a peasant named Maria. On June 19, 1515, Dante was frantically approached by Vincenzio, who had heard from officials of a man living in Bayonne wielding a sword identical to Dante's description of Rex Nothus. Per Vincenzio's request, the officials had agreed to observe the man in Vincenzio's absence while making no attempt to detain him. Before departing to Bayonne, Dante once again bid farewell to his family, promising Maria that he would marry her once he had returned. In truth, Dante believed that he would never see his relatives again, or at least not for an extended period of time. After making preparations for a major conflict, Dante and Vincenzio left for Bayonne. Dante and Vincenzio arrived in Bayonne on August 3 and, following directions from officials, proceeded to hide themselves in the city square until midnight, with Dante falling asleep due to exhaustion. At midnight, whist Dante was still asleep, a large audience of cloaked individuals—some of which were clearly Nefas—gathered in the city square, surrounding a hardened old man wielding Rex Nothus. When awoken by Vincenzio, Dante, in shock, identified the man as none other than his father, Massimo da Parma. To gain a full understanding of the situation, Dante and Vincenzio disguised themselves and joined the audience. Proclaiming himself the reincarnation of Axenus, Massimo declared his intentions to usurp the Capetian dynasty and herald an age of Nefas rule, a plan which Massimo had already converted enough Nefas to carry out. It was from Massimo's speech that Dante learned the truth—Massimo was the man who had brought Rex Nothus to France, using the First Italian War to fake his death and remove any suspicion of his involvement. The soldiers that attacked Dante's home were, in fact, Massimo's distant affiliates, but were betrayed by him when he ordered them to raid his home in search of Rex Nothus even though he had already retrieved the sword; this was done for the purpose of “liberating” Dante from his “inferior” relatives and giving him an opportunity to discover his true nature, as Massimo had known all along that Dante, too, was a Nefas. Dante and Vincenzio silently retreated from the meeting before it could be adjourned. Vincenzio, under Dante's demand for answers, revealed that he had known all along that Massimo was responsible for bringing Rex Nothus to France, but hid the truth from Dante so that he would be more cooperative. Following Vincenzio's orders, Dante retreated to the city of Nimes in search of Randa Primarosa, who had just recently returned to Europe and was supposedly the only Nefas Vincenzio knew to be capable of stopping Massimo on her own; Vincenzio, in the meantime, remained in Bayonne to further observe Massimo. While patrolling the streets of Nimes late at night on October 2, Dante was ambushed by Randa and soundly subdued. Dante ultimately managed to convince Randa to spare him and assist in the battle against Massimo, simply by mentioning Rex Nothus. Randa revealed to Dante that she, following Axenus' disappearance, had tried to locate Rex Nothus herself but was unsuccessful, and that Dante's family descended from hers. Deciding that dealing with Massimo herself would make for a “less fitting story,” Randa agreed to lend Dante Rex Nothus' sister sword, Regina Clades, under the condition that Dante gave up his fertility to ensure that no Nefas would be born in his family. Upon accepting her terms, Dante allowed Randa to curse him with a Vox Calamitosus spell that rendered him infertile; Randa, in turn, unsealed Regina Clades and lent it to Dante, cryptically warning him that he would only be given one chance to swing it. After lecturing Dante about the importance of punishing arrogant Nefas who abuse their power and take advantage of faith, Randa vanished, telling Dante that he would meet her again in Paris, and to head there as quickly as possible. Final Battle Dante returned to Paris on October 10, with Vincenzio and Massimo nowhere to be found. With time to spare, Dante formally warned Francis I, the successor of Louis XII, of Massimo's conspiracy, and to prepare for an imminent holy war. With Regina Clades in hand, Dante, as Massimo had done before him, declared himself the reincarnation of Axenus and spread the word with help from Francis I; this earned him the support of most Nefas in Paris. To further bolster the defense of Paris, Dante returned to Marseille on October 15, where he contacted Fabien and pleaded for Nefas reinforcements. By citing the negative impact losing the holy war would have on Nefas reputation—potentially triggering a war between humans and Nefas—Dante easily convinced Fabien's cult to join him. By spreading the word across Marseille with Regina Clades in hand, Dante earned additional support from civilians who worshiped Agostinha, some of which were Nefas. Dante reunited with Vincenzio in Paris on October 22, coinciding with Randa's reappearance and the beginning of the holy war in Paris, which Dante was immediately informed of by Vincenzio. When demanded by Randa to reveal his true identity to Dante, Vincenzio, before Dante's eyes, transformed into none other than Velia Agostinha Vivax as time froze around the trio. Dante, frozen in shock, observed the ensuing banter between Agostinha and Randa. When the woman were finished, Agostinha turned Her attention to Dante and revealed that She was the one who presented Rex Nothus to Dante's forefathers and set the chain of events into motion, solely for Her own amusement. Agostinha informed Dante that the Nefas She had gathered were already engaged in battle with Massimo's forces, and that Dante's fate was now in his own hands; following this, She vanished from the physical world. Empowered with resolved and now in command of his own army, Dante stormed the battlefield on horseback, using Albert's esteemed sword to slay any opposition. Dante cornered and confronted his father in the dawn of October 23 while holding Regina Clades. Recognizing the face of his son, Massimo pleaded with Dante to join him, revealing that he had spared Dante hoping that he would adopt his ambitions and join him of his own volition. Dante, remembering Randa's words as well as his own past, immediately declined, expressing disgust at Massimo's obsession with power. Following Massimo's monologue about his own Nefas father, Dante raised Regina Clades in preparation for one decisive attack. The battle was brief—before Massimo could use Rex Nothus against him, Dante proceed to attack with Regina Clades, completely obliterating Massimo despite the attack only grazing him; as payment, Regina Clades obliterated Dante's right arm as well, showing the meaning of Randa's words. As Dante lay bleeding to his death, he was recovered and saved by Randa. Upon making a significant recovery on November 2, Dante informed Randa that, while he would accept Randa keeping Rex Nothus and Regina Clades for herself, he needed a way to fulfill the promise he had made to Louis XII ten years ago; in response, Randa crafted Dante a sword aesthetically similar to Rex Nothus, but with only mild supernatural power. Because no one had seen Rex Nothus' capabilities, Dante could present the fake Rex Nothus to Francis I without any suspicion and receive a rich reward while further bolstering his fame. To repair the damage caused by both him and Massimo, Dante announced to a large gathering of Agostinha's worshipers that he and Massimo had lied to them to gain their trust, and that Axenus did not create Diluculum Sanctus for the purpose of leading believers to do his bidding, but rather to simply provide a welcoming community for Agostinha's believers and preserve their faith in Her. Dante added that while he believed Axenus to have been an irreplaceable man, all believers had the power to preserve the meaning of Diluculum Sanctus without relying on any “second coming” of Axenus. On November 17, Dante met with Randa one last time to ask if she intended to eliminate every believer of Agostinha in France; Randa assured Dante that she would not do so as long as he remained in France to prevent any holy wars from occurring. Dante left Paris with the intention of following Randa's advice by moving on with his life while learning from his father's mistakes. Later Life and Death Dante fulfilled his promise to Maria by marrying her on December 15, 1515. Without his entire right arm, Dante was forced to learn, with Maria's help, how to write using his left hand before he could expand his journal and continue his research. Hoping to finally communicate with an Anima Casus, Dante would often visit the pond that was once inhabited by said spirits. On July 1, 1517, Dante received a mysterious letter delivered by a cloaked Nefas. The letter, written by Gillberto, assured Dante that their mother was still alive and had remarried to a wealthy noble, reviving the family. As written by Gillberto, he and Clarice were informed of Dante's whereabouts and heroics by “a strange man by the name of 'Vincenzio da Rocca di Papa.” Dante, believing that his family deserved to know the truth of Massimo and his own reasons for remaining in France, composed a letter himself and requested the anonymous Nefas to deliver it to them. Dante would never hear from his family again. Dante's attempts to locate and communicate with an Anima Casus would not be successful until April 26, 1530, when a single Anima Casus loomed over the glistening pond as if waiting for him. The spirit identified itself as Dante's grandfather and claimed that it was same Anima Casus that Dante encountered in his childhood and before discovering the pond; the Anima Casus had just recently regained fragments of its human identity. Dante spent the night near the pond, recalling his past experiences; following this, his grandfather told him that he was proud of what he had become and vanished. In an effort to fully explore his potential as a Nefas, Dante would often train in solitude using methods taught to him by Agostinha (as Vincenzio); among his most notable improvements was learning how to fly using Volatus, a technique which he immediately demonstrated to a cheering crowd on September 13, 1560. On the night of December 2, 1561, Dante, having fallen ill three weeks after the death of his wife, was killed in his sleep, along with the rest of his family, by a small group of Agostinha's zealots in retribution for Massimo's death, beginning Dante's new life as an Anima Casus. Dante managed to write one last journal entry before completely losing his identity. As a radiant wisp of light, Dante flew out through his bedroom window with a new ambitious goal—to oversee the physical world and one day become the holy crusader hailed as a hero of France once more. Randa retrieved Dante's body upon hearing of his death, burying him and Rex Nothus as tribute and sealing his casket with a Vox Calamitosus spell to ensure that the sword could never again be abused by a Nefas like Massimo. Legacy Powers and Abilities Natural Abilities Longevity: Despite never learning Anima Obscuritas, Dante's lifespan was clearly superior to that of an ordinary human thanks to his Nefas heritage; even at an old age, Dante still maintained the physical appearance of a young adult, albeit with grayed hair. Advanced Growth Rate: As noted by Randa, Dante's Nefas abilities improved at a rate completely unheard of for any Nefas Inferior, which may have been the result of having learned some of Agostinha's training methods. By the time of his death, Dante had already learned every basic Pactum Anima technique (sans Vinculum Inconstans) and was even in the process of developing a Donum Verax. This exceptional growth as a warrior also applied to his physical capabilities; for example, although he was trained in the art of swordsmanship in his youth by his father for only a short period of time, he was already capable of slaying a single hardened soldier on his own. Randa states that had Dante still been alive in the present day, he would have been a truly exceptional Nefas. Keen Intellect: Dante's intellect, while not at the level of a genius, was one of his greatest tools as both a scholar and a warrior. Dante was capable of grasping difficult concepts without any assistance, a trait most notably applied in his youth. With his exceptional social skills acquired later in life, Dante could gain the respect and trust of even those only vaguely familiar with him, such as Randa and Fabien. According to Agostinha, assisting Dante was largely unnecessary, as Dante possibly would have located Rex Nothus by himself eventually. Expert Strategist and Tactician: With his general knowledge of combat and his ability to daftly predict his opponents' movements, Dante could drastically simplify otherwise difficult conflicts. Dante was particularly skilled at managing multiple enemies at once, such as when he protected his mother from several soldiers by diverting their attention and separating them enough so that they could be dealt with one at a time. By the time of his final battle with Massimo, Dante was a skilled enough strategist to lead a small army to victory. Swordsmanship Specialist: Particularly feared in this regard, Dante's skill with a sword far surpassed that of any average human. Dante primarily relied on broad and powerful two-handed strokes to quickly slay his opposition, rarely using thrusts; his attacks were noted to be very difficult to safely defend against. It it said that, with one particularly focused slash, Dante once bifurcated several lightly-armored troops with a single horizontal stroke; by employing the same level of focus on his opponent's weapon, Dante could easily break their guard and leave them open for a counterattack. With a string of persistent yet deliberate attacks, Dante could effectively keep his opponents on the defensive even if they dodged rather than blocked said attacks. Dante occasionally made use of his sword's handle to deflect linear attacks. When wielding his sword in his right hand only, Dante primarily utilized turtling techniques in conjunction with Nefas elemental sorcery in his left hand. Dante's sword techniques were largely improvised from, and ultimately superior to, his father's. Natural Physical Agility: Dante, having been trained by Ichchha, could further undermine his opponents with refined, acrobatic movements. With proper balance and timing, Dante could dodge low-aimed attacks using jumping handstands, and even flip off an opponent's weapon and leave them in a disadvantageous position. When using a short weapon such as a dagger, Dante could easily position himself beyond an opponent's range for the purpose of delivering a decisive counterattack Dagger Specialist: Dante was reportedly exceptional with the use of daggers, capable of using them to overpower opponents competent with much longer weapons. When wielding a dagger, Dante commonly relied on quick successive thrusts, or a single thrust aimed at a vital area, to rapidly incapacitate his opponents, rarely slashing with the blade. Dante dual-wielded daggers on two separate occasions; when doing so, he primarily relied on rapid slashes with both daggers rather than thrusting attacks, defending with the dagger held in his left hand when necessary. Expert Equestrian: Dante, by the time of his battle against Massimo's forces, was such a proficient horse rider that he was said to be far more dangerous on horseback. Using techniques taught to him by Ichchha, Dante formed a powerful bond with his steed which allowed him to perfectly synchronize with it to execute extraordinary maneuvers; for example, Dante could maneuver his horse to elude soldiers armed with horseman's picks and even defeat them with a weapon as short as a dagger. By acting in tandem with his steed, Dante could hold his own against soldiers in the dozens and “switch” combat roles with his steed in an instant to attack and defend at the same time, making him nigh untouchable by human conventional means even when not using his Nefas powers. Pactum Anima Fire Manipulation: Dante's Donum allowed him to alter the properties of his Pactum Anima to resemble fire and exert it against his opponents. As Dante's abilities as a Nefas fire sorcerer were very basic, fireballs were his usual method of applying his Donum against his opponents. Dante was at least a competent enough Nefas fire sorcerer to generate fire from a distance rather than within his hands only, which he often used to conjure rings of fire to isolate his opponents. Dante's fire was persistent enough to quickly heat metal, which allowed to him to use it effectively against armored opponents. As with any other Nefas fire sorcerer, Dante was completely immune to reishi-based fire. *'Gehennacasus:' A basic and versatile fire Donum technique that involves coating one's weapon with converted Pactum Anima, imbuing the user's physical attacks with fire and changing the weapon into a medium for fire sorcery. Because of Pactum Anima's nature, a Gehennacasus medium cannot collide with anything the user does not wish to harm—in the case a Gehennacasus medium collides with an unintended target, it will simply phase through it, which can be exploited to bypass an opponent's physical defenses. Aside from using Gehennacasus to enhance his already devastating swordplay, Dante could scatter the energy of the medium in the form of numerous wisps of flame upon swinging it, following which he could direct the energy according to his will and use it either offensively or defensively. Turris Anima: Dante obtained this technique sometime during his training with Agostinha, though he could only use it at a very basic level; he was at least proficient enough with it to apply it in battle. For maximum effectiveness, Dante often made use of this technique after scattering his medium's energy during Gehennacasus; the sudden outburst of energy would allow him to catch his opponents off-guard and decimate them with a single attack (as required by its inferior duration) disregarding their protection. Volatus: Dante's Volatus, as with most of his other Nefas techniques, was too basic to serve its general purpose; in this case, a high-speed lofty movement technique. For the majority of his life, Dante could only use Volatus to either delay a fall for a short period of time or cushion it; he primarily used both as a means to survive extraordinary heights and ambush his opponents. Dante eventually became proficient enough with Volatus to fly at a slow speed. Simulacrum Pacta: While too inexperienced with Simulacri Pactum to use it to enhance his bodily capabilities, Dante was still capable of dividing the Pactum Anima within his body, which he would most often perform as a meditative technique. Corpus Tremor: A pseudo-variation of Corpus Ubique Praesens that forgoes instantaneous teleportation of the user's entire body and instead focuses on bodily repositioning, allowing the user to, for example, instantaneously position themselves to avoid an attack without leaving any openings. Corpus Tremor is performed using the same method as Corpus Ubique Praesens, but in this case, the user simply imagines themselves in another position rather than in another location. Unlike Corpus Ubique Praesens, Corpus Tremor can be used without any possible ill-effects. Dante simply used Corpus Tremor to dodge attacks he would otherwise be unable to. Equipment Relationships Randa Primarosa Ichchha-un-Idika Edha Guha Thakurta Velia Agostinha Vivax Massimo da Parma Louis XII Quotes Trivia *All images used in this article were drawn by the author. *As with most of the author's characters, Dante is inspired by a characrer from one of the author's original stories. *Dante was originally meant to be a Nefas Verax, but the author decided against this as this likely would have made him too powerful.